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Scores of gun-control advocates rallied outside of Columbus City Hall yesterday while a few
opponents paced on a nearby sidewalk with rifles slung from their shoulders.

In his speech, Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman singled out one of the protesters, saying the
man probably never “ had a child struck down by a bullet from an assault weapon.”

More than 200 people attended the rally, which was sponsored by the Ohio Coalition Against Gun
Violence and a national group called Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Organizers said
they want to keep the need for gun control in the public’s consciousness following the December
massacre at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. They support President Barack Obama’s call for a
series of new laws, including mandatory background checks for firearm purchases.

“I am not a politician; I am just a mom from Indiana,” said Shannon Watts, who founded Moms
Demand Action following the Newtown shooting. “I’m an accidental activist.”

Her group has about 80,000 members organized in 80 chapters, she said.

Also speaking were U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Columbus, and several people who have been injured
or who had loved ones hurt or killed in gun-related incidents.

Tracy Sidesinger, 32, of Clintonville, stood in the audience with her husband and three small
children.

“They’re all our children,” she said, referring to the victims of gun violence.

At one point, a shouting man began to walk toward the people speaking. He was escorted away.

Other than that, the two sides dealt with each other peacefully. After the rally, several
gun-control supporters stood and talked to the dozen or so gun-rights advocates.

“For the most part, it was pretty civil,” said Mike Newbern, 39, of the Far West Side, an
engineering graduate student at Ohio State University and a supporter of the right to carry a
concealed weapon.

While Newbern did not have a gun on display, several other people did.

Bob Blake, 58, who lives south of Grove City, carried a hunting rifle and a modified version of
the American flag. It had a Roman numeral “II” inside a ring of thirteen stars.

Blake, who also was the protester Coleman singled out, said he was there to show his support for
gun rights and to fight against an attempt to turn the United States into a “socialist nation.”
When asked about Coleman’s comment, he said he didn’t pay attention to the people speaking.

Watts said her group intends to keep on holding events like this.

“Too many times, people forget about these shootings or they become numb, or they move on to
something else,” she said.